Five things trending today, February 26: 75 prominent Republicans support gay marriage, which shows a schism in the GOP; former Chicago Bulls player Dennis Rodman on peace-keeping mission to North Korea and the massive blizzard in parts of the Southern Great Plains.

1. PROMINENT REPUBLICANS SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE
Nearly 75 prominent Republicans, including Meg Whitman, several former aides to George W. Bush, two members of Congress and four former governors, have signed a legal brief arguing that gay couples have a constitutional right to get married. This puts them in direct opposition to Speaker of the House John Boehner and other powerful leaders in the GOP. The document will be submitted to the Supreme Court in support of striking down Proposition 8, California’s same-sex marriage ban. [New York Times]

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2. 18 KILLED IN HOT AIR BALLOON CRASH NEAR LUXOR EGYPT
A hot-air balloon crashed near Luxor, Egypt, killing 18 tourists from Hong Kong, Japan, France, and the United Kingdom. The balloon reportedly hit an electric cable, which caused a cylinder on board to explode and sending it plunging 1,000 feet. [BBC News]

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3. DENNIS RODMAN ON PEACH MISSION TO NORTH KOREA
Former Chicago Bulls star Dennis Rodman is on a “basketball diplomacy” mission to North Korea. Dennis Rodman will team up with three members of the Harlem Globetrotters to run a basketball camp for children and play against North Korean athletes as part of a Vice Media production due to air on HBO in April. [Associated Press]

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4. GOP ACCUSES OBAMA OF SCARE TACTICS OVER SEQUESTER
The GOP is accusing President Obama of using scare tactics and political-campaign maneuvers to pressure them into accepting a Democratic proposal to avoid the sequestration which will lead to deep budget cuts due to start hitting March 1. “This is not time for a road-show president,” said House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). The cuts amount to $85 billion this year and $1.2 trillion over a decade. President Obama said, “These cuts do not have to happen. Congress can turn them off any time with just a little bit of compromise.” [Washington Post]

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5. MASSIVE BLIZZARD SLAMS SOUTHERN GREAT PLAINS
The Texas and Oklahoma panhandles were buried by more than a foot of snow in a massive blizzard, which also disrupted travel across the southern Great Plains region. The storm has been blamed for two deaths — one person died when his overturned in Kansas after hitting an ice patch, and another was killed in a home when heavy snow caused the roof to collapse. [CNN, USA Today]

On This Day, Feb. 26, 1966, economist Andrew Felton Brimmer became the first black governor of the Federal Reserve Board when he is appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Andrew Brimmer was born the son of a Louisiana sharecropper. He died in 2012 after a long illness.

From the NY Times: “Dr. Brimmer, an economist, held a number of high-ranking posts in Washington and taught at Harvard, but the economic conditions of poor, powerless, uneducated blacks was an abiding concern. He spoke about what he called the “schism” between blacks who were educated and had marketable skills and those who did not. In later years he spoke frequently about how government policies no longer supported programs to help blacks enter the economic mainstream.”